Howa Golden Bear

Howa Golden Bear
Type	Bolt-action rifle, Hunting rifle
Place of origin	Japan
Production history
Manufacturer	Howa Machinery, Ltd.
Produced	1967-1979
Variants	Deluxe, Presentation, Medallion
Specifications
Mass	3,300g (.30-06), 3,200g (.308Win)
Length	1,160mm (.30-06), 1,075mm (.308Win)
Barrel length	616mm (.30-06), 565mm (.308Win)
Cartridge	.30-06, .308 Winchester, others
Caliber	7.62mm
Action	Bolt-action, Mauser type
Muzzle velocity	Depends on caliber
Effective firing range	Depends on caliber
Maximum firing range	Depends on caliber
Feed system	5-rounds

Howa Golden Bear is a bolt-action rifle that was manufactured by Howa Industries in the past.

Overview[]

Howa Industries established their firearms manufacturing plant in 1960 after World War II. In the same year, Howa released the M300^[a] as a hunting gun for domestic markets. Soon after releasing the Howa M300, the company began working on a new type of a hunting rifle in order to meet the demand for large-caliber bolt-action rifles in Japan. During the development, the designers used the Finnish SAKO L61R "Finnbear" as basis of the design.

In 1967, Howa introduced the Howa Golden Bear large-caliber rifle at the US Open rifle exhibition in Chicago, USA. At the time, it was the only large caliber hunting rifle available domestically in Japan.^[b]

The Golden Bear was launched in Japan and the United States in 1967, and the export specification grades were three types: deluxe, presentation, and medallion. In Japan, only the deluxe model was sold.

In United States, the Howa rifles were sold by Dickson Roses company as "Dickson-Howa Golden Bear". Also in the US Market, Weatherby, which had a business connections with Howa, also sold Howa rifles (OEM) under the name of Weatherby Vanguard.^[c]

In 1979, an updated design/model of the Howa Golden Bear, the M1500 was introduced, with the older Golden Bear model becoming discontinued in same year.^[1]

Design[]

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Howa Golden Bear is very similar to its parent weapon, the Sako L61R "Finnbear".^[2][3]

Use by Japanese law-enforcement[]

Despite being designed for hunting first, the Golden Bear was adopted by elements within Japanese law-enforcement.

Based on the lessons learned from the Kin Kiro Incident in 1968, the National Police Agency deployed a Golden Bear rifles to the prefectural police as equipment for taking down criminals and rescuing hostages. Additionally, all police Golden Bear rifles came with a scope.

When the Setouchi Seajacking incident occurred in 1970, the Osaka Prefectural Police Special Gun Corps (currently the Anti-Firearms Squadron) sniper took down the criminal with a Golden Bear rifle, allowing other officers to rescue the hostages.

The Golden Bear is also said to have used the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Special Squadron (now the SAT).^[4]

According to Megumi Tsukiji of Far East Gun Sales, the Golden Bear used by the Japanese police was chambered in .30-06 Springfield and equipped with an Bushnell Corporation 3-9 scope with magnification.^[5]

Notes[]

References[]